---
title: lynnswap/abibridge
framework: Swift Package Catalog
role: article
path: packages/lynnswap/abibridge
---

# lynnswap/abibridge

Resolve mangled Swift and C++ symbols by source-level name, and call supported native functions and methods with ordinary Swift types and values.

## Requirements

- iOS 18.4+, macOS 15.4+, visionOS 2.4+, watchOS 11.4+, or tvOS 18.4+ - arm64, arm64e, or arm64_32 - Xcode on macOS with Swift 6.3+

In Xcode, add `https://github.com/lynnswap/ABIBridge` as a package dependency and select the `ABIBridge` product. Add `ABIBridgeSwiftUI` if you need to display native SwiftUI views.

## What you can do

Use `resolve` for async lookup or `resolveAndWait` for synchronous lookup. Keep the returned handle for repeated calls, and invoke it on the thread required by the native API.

### Resolve a C++ function without writing its mangled name

A C++ function declared as `int Example::Math::add(int, int)` has a compiler-generated symbol such as `_ZN7Example4Math3addEii`. A direct lookup requires that mangled name:

```swift import Darwin

let address = dlsym(libraryHandle, "_ZN7Example4Math3addEii") ```

With ABIBridge, use the declaration name from the source:

```swift import ABIBridge

let runtime = ABIRuntime.shared let symbol = try runtime.resolveAndWait(     .cxx(.symbol("Example::Math::add(int, int)")) ) ```

See [symbol lookup](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/symbollookup) for scopes and optional preparation.

### Call C++ by its declaration

To call that function, provide its signature as a Swift function type. Specifying a framework acquires it when needed:

```swift let add = try runtime.resolveAndWait(     .cxx(.function("Example::Math::add(int, int)", as: ((Int32, Int32) -> Int32).self)),     in: .framework(named: "Example") ) let sum = try unsafe add.unsafeInvoke(20, 22) ```

Use `.c(.function(...))` for C declarations. Save a reusable request with `NativeRequest.c(...)` or `NativeRequest.cxx(...)`.

For C++ object methods, bind receiver storage with `cxxObject` and resolve `.cxx(.method(...))` or, for a selected virtual slot, `.cxx(.virtualMethod(...))`. See [C++ object calls](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/cxxobjectinvocation) for signatures, table ownership, and unsafe virtual resolution.

### Call Swift by its source-level name

For an already-loaded module defining `func decorate(_ value: String) -> String`:

```swift let decorate = try runtime.resolveAndWait(.swift(.function(     "Example.decorate(_:)", as: ((String) -> String).self ))) let message = try unsafe decorate.unsafeInvoke("Hello") ```

Save a reusable request with `NativeRequest.swift(.function(...))`. Native async functions use `await` during invocation; see [Swift function calls](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/swiftfunctioninvocation).

Generic declarations use the same callable handles with explicit type arguments:

```swift let echo = try runtime.resolveAndWait(.swift(.function(     "Example.echo(_:)", as: ((String) -> String).self,     genericArguments: [.type(String.self)] ))) let message = try unsafe echo.unsafeInvoke("Hello") ```

See [Swift generic calls](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/genericswiftvalues) for constraints, packs, and generic members. [Swift closure values](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/swiftclosurevalues) covers closures in tuples; [argument conventions](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/swiftargumentconventions) covers replacing values through `NativeSwiftInout`.

### Call Swift type members

Resolve a native type, then select its initializers, methods, or properties. For a renderer with `func title() -> String`:

```swift @MainActor func readTitle(from renderer: AnyObject) async throws -> String {     let type = try await ABIRuntime.shared.resolve(.swift(.type("Example.Renderer")))     let title = try await type.resolve(.swift(.method("title()", as: (() -> String).self)))     return try unsafe title.unsafeInvoke(on: renderer) } ```

The same request resolves on `runtime.object(renderer)` to bind the receiver, which stays in the caller's isolation domain. See [Swift types and members](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/swiftmemberinvocation) for initializers, static methods, and properties.

### Call an existing Objective-C instance

For a `renderer` exposing `setImage:animated:`, pass ordinary Swift values:

```swift import UIKit

let setImage = try runtime.object(renderer).resolveAndWait(.objc(.method(     "setImage:animated:",     as: ((UIImage?, Bool) -> Void).self ))) try unsafe setImage.unsafeInvoke(image, true) try unsafe setImage.unsafeInvoke(nil, false) ```

Use `.objc(.imp(...))` to capture a fixed implementation. See [Objective-C calls](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/objectivecinvocation) for message dispatch and receiver ownership.

### Display a native SwiftUI view

For a native factory returning `some View`, add the optional `ABIBridgeSwiftUI` product and use its owned wrapper on `MainActor`:

```swift import ABIBridgeSwiftUI

let makePanel = try runtime.resolveAndWait(.swift(.function(     "Example.makePanel(_:)", as: ((String) -> NativeSwiftValue).self ))) let panel = try NativeSwiftView(unsafe makePanel.unsafeInvoke("Hello")) ```

Place `panel` in your SwiftUI hierarchy or a standard hosting controller. It retains the hidden view and its implementation images, even when the provider module is not importable.

## Documentation

More examples and API contracts are available in [DocC](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/):

- [C and C++ functions](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/cfunctioninvocation) and [C++ object methods](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/cxxobjectinvocation) - [Swift types and members](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/swiftmemberinvocation) and [custom value adapters](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/nativevalueadapters) - [SwiftUI hosting, concrete values, and opaque views](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/swiftuiinteroperability) - [Symbol lookup](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/symbollookup) and [C/C++/Objective-C++ interfaces](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/nativeinspection) - [Hooks and replacements](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/hooksandreplacements) - [Migrating from earlier APIs](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/swiftapimigration) - [Memory reads](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/nativememory) and [pointer discovery](https://lynnswap.github.io/ABIBridge/documentation/abibridge/pointerdiscovery)

For build and test instructions, see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md).

## Acknowledgements

Symbol resolution uses [MachOKit](https://github.com/p-x9/MachOKit) to read Mach-O images and dyld shared caches. Objective-C type decoding uses [ObjCTypeDecodeKit](https://github.com/p-x9/swift-objc-dump). Thank you to [p-x9](https://github.com/p-x9) and the contributors to [MachOKit](https://github.com/p-x9/MachOKit/graphs/contributors) and [swift-objc-dump](https://github.com/p-x9/swift-objc-dump/graphs/contributors).

The C ABI backend uses [libffi](https://github.com/libffi/libffi), packaged for SwiftPM by [ZDLibffi](https://github.com/faimin/ZDLibffi). ABIBridge uses [a fork](https://github.com/lynnswap/ZDLibffi) with arm64e authentication fixes. Thank you to their authors and contributors.

## License

MIT License. Copyright (c) 2026 Kazuki Nakashima.

## Package Metadata

Repository: lynnswap/abibridge

Default branch: main

README: README.md